Plagiarism Checker X - Report Originality Assessment Overall Similarity: 11% Date: Oct 21, 2020 Statistics: 608 words Plagiarized / 5378 Total words Remarks: Low similarity detected, check your supervisor if changes are required. 30 Vol. 1 No. 1 Mei 2017 The Hindu Theology Of Ngerebeg At Desa Adat Tegal Darmasaba, Badung, Bali By: I Ketut Gunarta Institut Hindu Dharma Negeri Denpasar Email : [email protected] Received: April 20, 2017 Accepted: May 24, 2017 Published: May 31, 2017 ABSTRACT The religious practices of Hindus in Bali cannot be separated from the local tradition. This can be seen, among others, at the daily ritual service of the people called yajña. One of the kinds is named Ngerebeg, a ritual held by the villagers of Desa Adat Tegal Darmasaba. Although it is an old tradition, the theological content of the ritual is still unknown these days. The ritual of Ngerebeg uses several means. Among them are leaf, fruit, cattle, fire, and water. It is held once a year during the local calendar of Wrhaspatti Pon Wuku Langkir, led by Jro Mangku in the Dalem temple of the village. It starts with preparing all of the tools and other equipments needed for the ritual. Its peak is filled with procession around the village area. The ritual is believed to 1) have theological meaning as it is found in the worship of Saguna Brahman and Nirguna Brahman, 2) bring harmony to the village people, and 3) teach some aesthetical values. Key Words: Theology, Hindu, Ngerebeg, and Desa Adat. Vol. 1 No. 1 May 2017 I. Introduction The name of “Island with Thousand Temples” or “Island of Gods” for Bali should be associated with the unique local Hindu tradition of the Balinese people. The Balinese Hindu tradition has various local rituals. Based on the Hindu scriptures, ritual or Acara, is part of the “Three Basic Foundations” or Tri 4Kerangka Dasar Agama Hindu, in addition to Tattwa and Susila. According to Sanjaya (2010:39) Tattwa teaches the truth of God as well as material and non material ones. Whereas Susila refers to the ways of life of the saints that should be followed. Thus, tattwa, susila, 31 and Upacara can take an analogy of an egg, in which tattwa is the yolk, susila is the white part, and upacara is the shell. This is the reason why the three foundations are seen as one and all the rituals of Balinese Hindus cannot be far from it. The meanings 1of the foundations can be observed in the old traditional rituals that are held until now as they reflect the bhakti and sraddha to the Almighty God. The universally spiritual values within the rituals are combined with the local cultures to become contextual, actual, which show that Hindu is a religion with complete dimensions (Wiana, 2004: 22). Ngerebeg, held by the Hindus of Desa Adat Tegal, is one of many rituals that keep the interface between self-less service or yajna and tradition. It is in accordance with the concept of desa (place), kala (time), and patra (pattern) and carried out once for every six months on Wrhaspati Pon Wuku Langkir (the Balinese calendar days), at the temple of Dalem, Desa Adat Tegal Darmasaba. Despite the spirit in holding the ritual, there are people of the village who have no idea about the theological meaning of the tradition, which is actually important for keeping their faith or sraddha. This study, entittled “the Hindu Theology of Ngerebeg at Desa Adat Tegal Darmasaba, Badung, Bali” discusses the problem. The problem was studied by relating the problems to the theory of symbol. The data were collected through observation, interview, documentation, library research, as well as purposive sampling for having the informants, before they were described, analyzed, and presented qualitatively. II. Results and Discussion 2.1 Theory of Symbol Etymologically, the word “symbol” was derived from the Greek word “simballo ” (sumballein) which means ‘interview’; ‘contemplation’; ‘comparison’; ‘encounter ’; ‘throwing’; ‘become one’; ‘unite’. Thus, the word suggests ‘the unity of two things’ (Dibyasuharda in Triguna, 2000: 7-8). It may also suggest that with the thing one knows something and concludes it, especially when it is immaterial, abstract, ideal, objective, qualitative, and be in a process. Tuner (1990:18) explains that a symbol comes from an agreement so that it represents the thing with its reality analogical quality. Tuner further theorized three dimensions of symbol, i.e. (1). Exigetic, which is the dimension of a symbol presented directly by the informant to the researcher, in this context of study, by the local villagers to the researcher, (2). Operational, a symbol 4that can be seen from its verbal meaning besides experienced through the eyes, (3). Positional, a symbol that can be understood when combined with others. Symbols play important role for Balinese Hinduism as they could grow the faith. They are various in forms and meanings. Theory on symbols here is used to be the foundation for answering the problem on the theological 1meaning of the Ngerebeg tradition. 2.2 Ngerebeg Tradition The word tradition refers to ‘custom’; ‘habit’ that is passed down from one generation to another in a society and often regarded as the right one to do (Tim Penyusun, 2008:325) In Hindu, a tradition in a society is supposed to be preserved as long as it does not violate the teaching of the Veda. 1In Bali, the tradition is tightly associated with the philosophical concepts of “ desa ,kala, and patra”, that essentially suggest ‘to suit the contexts’. Whereas the name Ngerebeg was derived from the Old Javanese, i.e. from the word “ grebeg” that could mean ‘grouping’; ‘loud sound’; ‘noisy’. Sanjaya (2010: 1 1) suggested that the word was derived from the root “ gerebeg” which means ‘ransack’. The word may also refer to ‘a big ritual’ that later on in The Hindu Theology Of Ngerebeg At Desa Adat Tegal Darmasaba Badung Bali | I Ketut Gunarta 32 Vol. 1 No. 1 Mei 2017 Balinese given “ anusuara” to become ngerebeg. Thus, basically 1the meaning of the word reflects ‘collective action that causes loud noise’. Based on that, the tradition called Ngrebeg is referred to a ceremony, which is big, as it is done or joined by a lot of people with spirit and loud noise, as found to be part of the tradition related to the Pura Dalem Desa AdatTegal Darmasaba, Kecamatan Abiansemal, Kabupaten Badung. 2.3 Pura Dalem Desa Adat Tegal Darmasaba The word pura was derived from the Sanskrit, i.e. the word “pur ’ which means ‘kota’; ‘benteng’, to mean further ‘an area surrounded with fortress used for contacting holy spirit’ In Bali, a pura is a holy temple 1in which the Hindus pray to Ida Sang Hyang Widhi Wasa, His manifestation, as well as ancestors (Sanjaya, 2010:5). The word dalem was derived from (the same wordform) dalem, which means ‘deep’. In this context, the word should mean ‘to bury all evil and negativities deeply’ before the ceremony. 4In addition to this, Pura Dalem, as one of the Khayangan Tiga, is also considered to be the shrine of Civa as the Dissolver with His Cakti, Parvati or Durgha. 2.4 Perspective of the HinduTheology According to Donder (2006:112) the Hindu theology cannot be separated from Panca Sraddha, which is the foundation of the Hindu faith or belief: a) belief in God or Brahman; b) belief in the soul or Atman; c) belief in the law of Karma Phala; d) belief in Punarbhawa or reincarnation; e) belief in Moksa or liberation or to be one with God. As the five foundations cannot be separated from one another, they become part of the Brahma Vidya Based on that, the Hindu theology is essentially the study of God in Hinduism or also named Brahma Vidya. By studying it with the Panca Sraddha the goal of life should be reached. The tradition of Ngerebeg should be studied for its theological significances as they can be used to understand the problems related to it. 2.5 The Procession of Ngerebeg at Pura Dalem, Desa Adat Tegal, Darmasaba The procession of Ngerebeg starts with offering yingan or cane at the temple of Dalem Desa Adat Tegal Darmasaba. The so-called cane is a small place, decorated with seriokan in which placed the banana pole to which offering is attached. Around it there are bija, air cendana, and buratwangi, each is put on a small bowl or takir. It is also completed with four kojong filled with tobacco, areca nut, betel vine, lime, and gambier that are all tied. Sometimes they are also added with cigarettes and a match. Flowers are placed around the top with some coconut leaves decoration. Cane is especially made for the ritual of melasti, carried on the heads before pratima or daksina palinggih. After the ritual, it is going to be “ dilebar”, i.e. distributed it with water of sandalwood, rice, flowers, and others. The ritual symbolized the expression of 4gratitude to the God for His blessings for which the remains can be enjoyed as can be read in Bhagavadgita IV. 3.1 as below. Yajòa-ùiùtâmâta-bhujo yânti Brahman sanâtanam, Nâyây loko’ sty ayajòasya kuto’nyaâ kuru-sattama. Translation: Those who eat after offering to God as amrta will reach the eternal Brahman, and this world and others are not for those who do not do this, Arjuna (Pudja, 2010:125). As a tradition the unique ritual means the gratitude. The offerings during the ritual of maprani, consist of fruits, traditional cakes, rice, and meat. It is followed with a ritual for Ida Patapakan of Desa Adat Tegal Darmasaba. 33 There are different kinds of offerings for God, 2Ida Sang Hyang Widhi Wasa, however, basically all of them refers to work so that to gain the fruit from the yajna as it is stated in Bhagavadgita IV.32 as quoted below.